Cherry Mobile Apollo Hands On Review

Dubbed as the “BSI ng Bayan” (Back Side Illumination), the Cherry Mobile Apollo is the most affordable smartphone with a 13 megapixel camera with BSI. Cherry Mobile has yet again made another mark by offering this device for only P6,999. So how does this fare on day to day use? Read on with the review.

Cherry Mobile Apollo specs:

1.2 GHz Quad Core MediaTek MT6589 processor

PowerVR SGX544 processor

1GB RAM

4GB internal storage expandable via MicroSD up to 32GB

4.5 inch HD IPS LCD display (720 x 1280 pixels)

12 megapixel rear facing camera with autofocus and LED flash

5 megapixel front facing camera

HSPA+, Bluetooth, Wi-FI hotspot, Wi-Fi

GPS, A-GPS

Dual Sim, Dual Standby

1,800 mAh battery

Android 4.2 Jellybean

SRP: P6,999

Build Quality and Design:

Overall its a solid device but I noticed some creaking at the back. I was never a fan of shiny exteriors. This phone is no exception. It also attracts so many fingerprints as well.

Display:

Absolutely beautiful! Good thing this phone has IPS display so expect good viewing angles and sunlight legibility.

Performance and Software:

The phone runs Android 4.2 Jellybean with almost stock Android UI on top of it. Everything is smooth and lag free thanks to its quad core processing power coupled with 1GB RAM. Gaming is excellent and I didn’t experience any lags. Playing Dead Trigger 2 was fun! The phone scored 13.463 on Antutu Benchmarks which was pretty normal for quad core phones with this caliber.

Playing Dead Trigger 2 was fun!

Camera:

The camera is the phone’s main selling point. Pictures was just stunning! I used the 13 megapixel camera while I was on vacation in Thailand and here are the results.

Good lighting

Photo taken in a room with no light with flash

Battery:

The package indicates that it has a 1,800 mAh battery but actually Cherry Mobile supplied this phone with a 2.000 mAh battery. The battery lasted about 10 hours of moderate to intense usage and 1 day and a half of light usage.

Verdict: Highly recommended! If you are looking for a phone with decent specs, good camera, nice display at a low price. You better take a look at this phone. There is no phone yet from other brands that is offering similar to this for P6,999.